David Attenborough’s latest series, Mammals, kicked off tonight and discovered the world of leopards, bats and mammals which use night vision to hunt their prey.
The official synopsis for the first episode read: “David Attenborough narrate a look into the lives of mammals, exploring how the have adapted to their changing surroundings and have found ways to create homes in the wild.
“The first episode focuses on animals that thrive in the dark, from leopards that use night vision to hunt their prey to bats using echolocation to navigate the night skies.”
Minutes into the show, viewers were able to see how a leopard stalked its prey in the night and climb through the trees to ambush baboons.
After a tiring chase through the trees and the baboons fighting for their life, the leopard managed to catch one – with viewers being able see the dead animal and blood dripping due to the night vision cameras.
Many took an issue with the graphic scenes and aired their concerns on their social media, with one X user noting: “Well #mammals started off pretty brutal... Maybe not a good idea with the little one for Easter.”
Viewers were left disturbed over 'brutal' scenes
BBC
“Come on David I'm still eating my tea…” another added before a third quipped: “B****y hell, #mammals is like watching a horror film...”
A fourth expressed: “Blood pouring out showing on the night vision camera...Brutal.”
“Don't like all this night vision malarky, sort it out BBC,” an annoyed viewer said before a sixth penned: “Well that was pretty horrific.”
However, not all viewers were left grossed out by the force of nature, leaving one viewer to praise: “Incredible night vision camera work on.” (sic)
The scenes saw a leopard using night vision to catch a baboon in the tree
BBC
Discussing one of the episodes, Attenborough said: “In areas of high tourism, research has shown that the survival of cheetah cubs is also greatly reduced.
“It must surely be possible to respect the animals’ need for space and at the same time enable human visitors to have a meaningful glimpse of the wild world.
“That is what must be achieved if cheetahs are to have a future on the African plains.”
After beginning his career in 1950, the TV legend has hardly been off viewers' screens – with Mammals being his 43rd documentary series.
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David Attenborough fans were left grossed out by the first episode
BBC
Throughout his career, he has travelled the world to make his groundbreaking documentaries such as Natural World, Great Barrier Reef, Frozen Planet, Planet Earth, The Blue Planet and 42 others.
Accompanying his hefty TV presence, Attenborough has also penned 29 books, with his latest being A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future, which was published in 2020.